An e-petition calling for a newly-elected councillor in Carfax to step down because of a tiny turnout has been signed by more than 130 people.

Labour’s Alex Hollingsworth won the September 4 poll, in which just 8.6 per cent of eligible voters cast a vote. His resignation would trigger another by-election.

The petition was started by Nathan Akehurst, who said the by-election goes against the spirit of democracy because it was held at a time when students, who make up a large share of the voters in the city centre ward, were on holiday.

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